Local men share baseball equipment, expertise with Kenya

The Kenyan government recently donated 22 acres in Meru County to build a baseball complex with Mount Kenya — the second-highest peak in Africa — as the backdrop.

There will be a hotel and approximately 28 baseball fields. Three will be named after men from Eastern Connecticut: Tim Lake, Billy Brewer and Jakob Eaves.

“The complex, by the time it’s done, will probably be one of the nicest baseball complexes in the world,” Lake said.

The land, which is being cleared, sits on a hill beside the mountain and provides a picturesque view from every angle. During a visit in August, Eaves named it the Mount Kenya Baseball Complex and Lake came up with a fitting slogan, “Baseball on Top of the World.”

“After the 22 acres, it drops off, and all you see is mountains around it,” Lake said. “It looks like you’re basically up on a pedestal playing baseball.”

When Lake, of Norwich, decided to join the American Friends of Kenya — a nonprofit group based in Norwich dedicated to aiding the country — for its latest trip to the country, he thought his primary objectives would be to deliver donated baseball equipment and offer instructional clinics to players and coaches. The trip turned into much more.

Soccer and running might be the country’s most popular sports, but in certain parts of Kenya, America’s pastime is quickly catching up. Kenyans took notice when their neighbors to the west, Uganda, competed in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., in 2012. Despite going through culture shock upon their arrival — most of the team had never worn cleats before — Uganda defeated a team from Gresham, Ore., to become the first African country to win a game in Williamsport.

Lake and his family were there to see it. The Norwich Little League coach of nine years shook hands with the Ugandan coaches and applauded the players.

Going there “wasn’t a big deal until we got there and realized the importance of being there for that year and being a part of history with (Lugazi, Uganda) being the first team from Africa to go there in 66 years,” Lake said.

The buzz about baseball was growing in Meru County, so much so that Wayne and Emely Silver, founders of the AFK, were receiving requests for used baseball equipment. A year earlier, they had sent soccer cleats donated by Norwich Free Academy.

More than expected

After seeing signs for a Norwich Little League baseball registration in January, the Silvers decided to take a walk to NFA to speak with Little League representatives.

“We were hoping to leverage a couple of gloves,” Emely Silver said with a laugh.

By the time the shipment, stored at the Otis Library in Norwich, went out in April, there were more than 40 boxes of used baseball equipment plus large duffle bags filled with bats. Everything was included, from catcher gear to baseballs to uniforms that were still in the original wrappers. Many of the donations came from the Jewett City and Norwich Little Leagues.

Something else happened, too. That initial conversation with the Silvers piqued Lake’s curiosity so much that he became interested in heading over with the equipment. After witnessing Uganda’s triumph, Lake wanted to be a small part of Kenya’s growth.

“The biggest challenge remains lack of equipment like bats, balls, gloves, helmets (and) protective gear,” Kenyan Little League president George Mehinda wrote to The Bulletin in April. “We can only import as none (are) made locally, making them very expensive. The other major problem is lack of properly trained coaches, umpires and scorers.”

Travel companions

Lake didn’t go alone. He recruited friend and former Norwich Little League coach Jakob Eaves and Billy Brewer, a member of the Eastern Connecticut Board of Approved Umpires for the last three years, to join him. Jewett City Little League, Norwich Little League parents and the Connecticut Heat AAU, an organization with which Lake coaches, raised the funds for the three Eastern Connecticut men to join 20 AFK members for a two-week trip that ended Aug. 10.

Their goal was to teach coaching, umpiring and player clinics at the schools in Meru. It’s volunteerism that is often overlooked in the United States, but it wasn’t in Kenya. Before the three men could start clinics, a meeting was arranged with the secretary of sports in Nairobi. Lake signed a baseball that will be placed in a Meru museum as the introduction of baseball to the county.

It wasn’t the only baseball Lake signed. He met with governors and the Minister of Sports in Kenya, leaving behind signed balls as if he were American baseball royalty. The meetings were much more than meet-and-greets, though.

Selling the game

“What I didn’t know was that they took us to all of these places because they needed to hear from people in the U.S. that this is a legitimate thing,” Lake said. “I had to sell the idea of baseball to a country that is primary football — or soccer to us — and it worked because every time we left, the government officials said, ‘You just got us accepted.’ ”

A welcoming ceremony was held, and the equipment was finally unveiled.

“It was all basically stuff that American kids couldn’t use anymore,” Brewer said, “but, all that stuff was like gold to them over there.”

At every stop, the Kenyans showed their appreciation for the equipment and the expertise of the three men.

“We have libraries in about 250 schools, we’ve set up clinics, done all kinds of stuff, and sometimes it can be very hard if you run up against the bureaucracy of not being able to get an answer, but they took to (baseball) like ducks to water,” Emely Silver said. “Everybody was all in favor. They had a welcoming (ceremony), they had speeches, all of the district governors in that area were in full support, which is unusual. You don’t often get that.”

Full entourage

The men were driven around in a white Range Rover with a full security detail, headed by administration police constable Francis Muchiri. Crowds gathered around them with every move.

“The guys never experienced anything like this,” Emely Silver said. “I mean, they’re three guys from Norwich, Connecticut, and suddenly they were being ushered around by the governor of this and the governor of that, meeting all these people, and for them it was an overwhelming experience.”

Clinics were held each day with students from about 40 various schools in the region. The three men traveled occasionally, but mostly, the students came to them at a school called Kaliene. Some of the children had seen a baseball before, and many had not, so most clinics started with two of the men having a simple pitch and catch.

“You can basically skip right through basics because all of these kids were baseball players and they just never knew it,” Lake said. “It was just never introduced to them. In two days, a lot of kids were doing what it takes our kids five years to do. It was mind-blowing.”

Brewer feels many American children develop poor habits from watching professional baseball on television when they are young. Since the children in Kenya had no exposure to the sport, the bad habits didn’t exist.

Discipline and respect

What may have caught Lake even more off guard was how disciplined and respectful the children were. When any of the three men talked, the children didn’t. When the coaching was done for the day, the children gathered the equipment — down to every baseball — and put it back exactly how they found it when the day began without being asked.

The three men even got the girls involved in the game. Although the girls are often shunned athletically by their male counterparts, the Americans gave them the chance to a part of the fun as well.

Equally as important to teaching the children, the three men held coaching and umpiring clinics for adults and showed them not only how to properly set up a field, but the steps needed to maintain it.

“Tim, Billy and Jakob visited us when we needed (them) the most and I will never forget them for the rest of my life,” Muchiri wrote in an email. “Our teams lacked tactical clues because we had not been able to have coaches of their grade before and we were left well-furnished, keeping in mind that our ambitions (are) to topple Uganda as the African champs.”

Full integration sought

Kenya is hoping to integrate baseball into schools for many of the same reasons high school sports and after-school programs are promoted here — to keep students in a positive atmosphere and out of trouble. Poverty and gang violence are major issues in Meru County. Many of the students the men taught didn’t own shoes, and often, their clothing was torn.

“I walked into a restaurant/lounge and I had guys walking up to me, thanking me for teaching the kids baseball,” Brewer said. “It wasn’t even like the kids knew and the schools knew, it was like the whole community knew what was going on.”

Lake said the 22-acre Mount Kenya Baseball Complex still looked like the Serengeti when they visited, but he can’t wait to see what it becomes.

“We’re lucky enough now that we got the word out and the government wants to help, give money and wants to help build this,” Lake said. “We moved mountains when it came to these officials.”

Unforgettable bonds

Lake, Brewer and Eaves stayed with host families during the two weeks and formed unforgettable bonds away from the schools. They also joined the AFK to tour schools and hospitals, and even went on a safari.

“It was the best trip I’ve ever been on in my entire life,” Lake said. “The only thing that would’ve made it better is if my wife and son were there.”

On his final day at Kaliene, Lake, who almost always sports a pair of sunglasses, got choked up looking at the faces of the children during his final speech. He turned away and Brewer picked up the speech as the children and teachers applauded.

“They treated us like we were celebrities when all we did is the same thing that we do with the kids here,” Brewer said. “It’s just that they appreciated it a lot more.”